News Corp Unveils $299 Android Tablet for Students

[1]At the SXSWedu conference in Austin, Tex. the new education division of News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA[2]) showed off it’s new tablet.

The tablet — powered by Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG[3]) Android operation system — will be available for grades K-12 and cost $299, reports The New York Times[4].

The tablet was showed off by Joel Klein, president of News Corp. division Amplify and a former chancellor of New York City schools. Klein revealed the 10-inch tablet and said that it can assist both students and schools in furthering education.

Klein said, “When I left I was convinced of two things. If we didn’t see a dramatic technological change, we were not going to be able to move this country forward. Second of all, that the private sector had to get much, much more involved.”

The tablet’s learning model will first be aimed at middle school students before being rolled out to all grades. Amplify began testing the model with schools and student last November and is hoping to get it into as many schools as possible in the Fall. In addition to the $299 version, there is an Amplify Tablet Plus for $349. Either version also requires a two-year $99 subscription fee.